Adjustable cushioning arrangement for railroad cars



July 5, 1966 w. H. PETERSON 3,259,252

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ADJUSTABLE cusmoume ARRANGEMENT FOR RAILROAD CARS Original Filed Jan. 21, 1965 13 Sheets-Sheet 8 men/Z291 lki'llam fZPaZe r5070 yw s ADJUSTABLE CUSHIONING ARRANGEMENT FOR RAILROAD CARS 13 Sheets-Sheet 9 Original Filed Jan. 21, 1963 M A W M w Z s an new m n a New e5 I "K." 0 ill I. O rlu W Iel 3w #8 vmm |\l \OW N mm. mm% #6 w H y mm am. \W W 3 NR 8m 3 t. man Ql flfi 9 %w% llllll ill I III my um y 5, 1956 w. H. PETERSON 3,259,252

ADJUSTABLE CUSHIONING ARRANGEMENT FOR RAILROAD CARS 13 Sheets-Sheet 10 Original Filed Jan. 21, 1963 .560 lm iss 566 INVHVTOR. Wnumgy H. aERsoN July 5, 1966 w. H. PETERSON 3,259,252

ADJUSTABLE CUSHIQNING ARRANGEMENT FOR RAILROAD CARS Original Filed Jan. 21, 1963 July 5, 1966 w. H. PETERSON 3,259,252

ADJUSTABLE CUSHIONING ARRANGEMENT FOR RAILROAD CARS 13 Sheets-Sheet 12 Original Filed Jan. 21, 1963 QQZZg/S.

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ADJUSTABLE CUSHIONING ARRANGEMENT FOR RAILROAD CARS Original Filed Jan. 21, 1963 15 Sheets-Sheet 13 I NVEN TOR. WZ'ZZL'am A 1 6 Zcns'mz 6 R m up 1 I I United States Patent 3,259,252 ADJUSTABLE CUSHIONIN G ARRANGEMENT FOR RAILROAD CARS William H. Peterson, Homewood, Ill., assignor to Fullman Incorporated, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Delaware Orig'nal application Jan. 21, 1963, Ser. No. 253,783, now Patent No. 3,224,386, dated Dec. 21, 1965. Divided and this application Mar. 22, 1965, Ser. No. 441,469 5 Claims. (Cl. 213-43) My invention relates to an adjustable cushioning arrangement for railroad cars, and more particularly, to railroad car cushioning apparatus of the type incorporating the principles of my application Serial No. 856,963, filed December 3, 1959 (the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by this reference) now Patent 3,003,436, granted October 1-0, 1961, wherein the cushioning apparatus is made adjustable or self-adjusting to take into consideration loading variations that rail-road cars experience in day to day service. This patent application is a division of my co-pending patent application having U.S. Serial No. 253,783, filed on January 21, 1963, now Patent No. 3,224,386, which latter application is a continuation-in-part of my abandoned U.S. applications Serial No. 82,259, filed January 12, 1961, and Serial No 154,719, filed November 24, 1961.

My said Patent 3,003,436 teaches a basically new approach to the protection of lading in transit on railroad cars, which is particularly effective in providing damagefree protection to the class of lading that is most critical from the damage claim standpoint, that is, commodities packed in fiber or cardboard boxes and cartons and known as resilient lading.

As disclosed in my said Patent 3,003,436, during any impact situation, changes in the absolute velocity of the l-ading (which are normally caused by stopping and starting of the car, and by impacts against the car couplers during transit) are effected by adding or subtracting kinetic energy to the lading through the frictional forces acting between the lading and the car as well as the pressure of the car end wall on the lading (the car end Wall involved depending upon which car coupler is initially subjected to the longitudinal shock, and Whether the shock is in buff or in draft). My said application discloses that damage-free protection against longitudinal impacts (that is, impacts applied against the car couplers) can be obtained if there is interposed between the couplers and the car body containing the lading a cushioning device or arrangement having a cushion travel sufficient in capacity and length that the absolute velocity of the lading is changed to that required by the Law of Conversation of Momentum for Inelastic Bodies by employing to a substantial degree the frictional forces acting between the lading and the car, as distinguished from the compressive forces supplied to the lading by the car end wall. This novel approach involves, among other things, extending the time of closure of the cushioning device employed sufficiently so that the changes that must occur to the absolute velocity of the lading (by reason of the aforementioned Law of Conservation of Momentum) occur to the lading substantially as a unit. The length of travel found essential to US. railroad practices is in the range of 20-40 inches, and is preferably on the order of 30 inches.

I have found, as disclosed in my above mentioned application, that a cushion travel in this range permits the inherent stability of the load and the friction between the lading and the car body to act as substantial factors in creating the lading acceleration (either positive or negative) necessary to achieve the absolute velocity dictated by the aforementioned Law of Conservation of Momenturn, without developing within the lading the destructive compressive forces which cause l'ading damage.

The invention of my appliaction Serial No. 856,963 is applicable to a wide variety of railroad car arrangements, including cars especially designed for piggyback freight container system of handling freight as well as the familiar boxcars, flatcars and other standard. designs. These arrangements preferably include the long travel cushioning device of my applications Serial No. 782,786, filed December 24, 1958, now Patent 3,035,827, granted May 22, 1962 and Serial No. 9,785, filed February 19, 1960, now Patent 3,035,714, granted May 22, 1962 to control the long travel cushioning action.

As described in my said Patent 3,003,436, these devices are approximately percent efiicient cushion travel devices, meaning that they transmit essentially only that portion of the kinetic energy necessary to satisfy the Law of Conservation of Momentum, and that they dissipate substantially all of the rest of the kinetic energy required to accomplish an inelastic impact, with the exception of energy that is stored in return springs necessary to recenter the devices and the energy involved in lading friction, elastic structural deflection, noise, and the like. In other words, the above indicated 100 percent efiicient cushion travel cushion device is one that transfers and dissipates the required energy with travel and with no recoil, and requires that the cushioning device have substantially constant force travel characteristics.

The long travel cushioning devices of my Patents 3,035,- 827 and 3,035,714 are double acting hydraulic cylinder piston arrangements in which the impetus of coupler impacts is dissipated by forcing hydraulic liquid through an orifice or orifices at a metered rate, as determined by a metering pin which varies the effective size of the orifice openings, over the length of closure stroke of the cushion, as required to obtain the cushioning force travel characteristic desired. Preferably, the constant force travel characteristic described in my Patent 3,003,436. is employed.

One of the most diflicut problems in this art is that cushioning dew'ces employed to cushion coupler impacts must be fully effective regardless of whether the car is empty, partially loaded, or fully loaded, and at impact speeds up to collision magnitudes. In cushion underfrarne and cushion body railroad cars of standard capacity, the fully loaded versus empty weight ratio is on the order of 2 /2 or 3 to 1, but this is not nearly so critical as in railroad car apparatus arranged to carry freight containers, since containers may weigh anywhere from 5,000 pounds .to 130,000 pounds (depending upon the size of the container, the type of lading carried, and whether or not the container is fully loaded).

One example of the application of my invention described in my Patent 3,003,436 is shown in that patent applied to a container system of handling freight wherein a container supporting carriage or rack structure is applied to the bed of a standard freight car, with one of my long travel cushioning devices interposed between the carriage or rack and the car bed to protect the containers and their l-ading from coupler impacts. It -is in this type of arrangement that load Weight variations 'make it essential that the cushion devices permit adjustment of their closure characteristics, if the cushion rack is to have the versatility required for full utilization of the freight container system approach.

The reason for this is that hydraulic cushioning devices that are to be used for cushioning coupler impacts and that are to he of the substantially constant force travel type are conventionally designed to provide the constant force travel closure characteristic at some load condition of the particular type car to which the cushion is to be applied, such as a desired full load condition. And, therefore, the metering structures of these cushion ing devices have been fixed in nature in that no way was provided to change the etfective areas of the orifice openings involved (even in hydraulic cushions of the type employing removable metering pins, the metering pin is conventionally fixed in its operation position, and the only way to change the force travel characteristics of the cushion is to replace the metering pin).

Experience has shown that, in connection with the fixed metering pin type cushion, so long as the type of car for which it is designed is impacted under load conditions reasonably approaching the optimum full load condition for that car, the desired substantially constant force travel closure characteristic of the cushion will be provided.

And, in cushion underframe and cushion 'body cars (for instance, boxcars) of standard capacity the diflFerence in empty weight versus fully loaded weight is not sufiicient to cause an unworkable departure from the desired constant force travel characteristic under lightly loaded or empty impact conditions.

However, in thecase of container cars of the type mentioned, where the car is empty or greatly underloaded, the cushion force travel characteristic may seriously depart from the desired constant force travel type to the extent that an undesirably high cushion force would be experienced at the beginning of the closure stroke which would drop off rapidly as travel proceeds, with the result that a severe impulse could be transmitted adjacent the beginning of the closure stroke, to the load acually carried, that might cause lading damage. Under severe underload conditions, the main force impulse imposed on the container (being cushioned) by the cushion will occur at or adjacent the beginning of the cushion closure stroke, prior to the time the lading takes to reach maximum compaction, which is contrary to the concepts disclosed in my Patent 3,003,436.

And where the container car is overloaded, the force travel curve of the cushion will depart, at the end of the closure stroke, from the desired constant force travel characteristic to exhibit a sharp increase in force applied to the container that may cause damage. Since the lading will have already reached a high degree of compaction by the time this sharp force increase is experienced, and thus temporarily is more rigidly connected to the car than under normal circumstances, the lading will be more sensitive to cushion force variations so that sharp rises in cushion force at the end of the cushion will be refiected in sharp rises in lading force that could cause damage.

It is therefore a principal object of this invention to provide a hydraulic coupler impact cushioning arrangement for railroad equipment wherein the cushion device may be adjusted to provide approximately the most effective protection for the load actually carried by a particular car at the time of impact.

Another principal object of the invention is to provide a hydraulic coupler impact cushioning arrangement for railroad equipment wherein the cushioning device is adjustable, either automatically or manually to insure the provision of a force travel closure characteristic that reasonably approaches the optimum constant force travel type for all loads up to the maximum capacity of the car.

Prior to my invention disclosed in my Patents 3,035,827 and 3,035,714, hydraulic cushioning devices had been considered impractical for use in railroad cars, to absorb longitudinal impacts, because of oil leakage and excessive manufacturing costs and maintenance. As brought out in my said Patents 3,035,827 and 3,035,714, I have determined that much of the oil leakage can be laid to the sliding or dynamic seals that are employed and the liquid pressures. Furthermore, sliding or dynamic oil seals, by their very nature, require close manufacturing tolerances to be operative and the machining thus made necessary forms a substantial part of the overall manufacturing cost. And, of course, the excessive oil leakage requires too frequent inspection and servicing to keep maintenance costs at economical levels.

One of the principal advantages of the invention described in my said Patent 3,003,436 is that the long travel cushioning action contemplated by that invention insures that hydraulic operating pressures are reduced to practical operating ranges, which in addition to making hydraulics available for absorbing impacts in the railroad field, also tends to oifset some of the disadvantages of sliding or dynamic seals. However, it becomes apparent to me that sliding or dynamic seals must be eliminated from hydraulic cushioning devices to avoid the leakage problem, that the cushioning components must admit of more simplified minimunal manufacturing steps to make hydraulic cushions attractive to the railroad industry, and that the cushioning device as a whole must be devised to make infrequent inspection and servicing the rule rather than the exception.

Therefore, a further principal object of this invention is to provide a simplified low cost long travel hydraulic cushion device in which sliding seals are eliminated.

Another important object of my invention is to provide a hydraulic cushion device which is arranged to space high pressure liquids from parts of the device where leakage problems are most acute, which is arranged to effect maximum dissipation of heat that is generated when impacts are absorbed, and which substantially eliminates the need for expensive machining operations during manufacture of the device.

Yet other objects of the invention are to provide a selfadjusting cushion arrangement for railroad cars wherein the resistance of the cuhsion to the impetus of impacts is automatically adjusted in accordance with the actual weight of any given load applied to the car, to provide an improved long travel cushioning device for effecting the benefits of my Patent 3,003,436, to provide long travel hydraulic cushioning devices permitting ready automatic or manual adjustment of the metering orifice area under operating conditions, and to provide cushioning devices and arrangements that are inexpensive of manufacture, convenient to install and efiicient in operation.

Other objects, uses and advantages will be obvious or become apparent from a consideration of the following detailed description and the application drawings.

In the drawings:

FIGURES 1A and 113 when considered together form a composite diagrammatic perspective view of one embodiment of the special skeleton car and cushion rack arrangement for freight containers that is disclosed in the copend-ing application of Jack E. Gutridge, Ser. No. 21,331, filed April 11, 1960, which incorporates the long travel principles of my Patent 3,003,436, and which is here disclosed for purposes of illustrating the type of railroad equipment that my present invention benefits most;

FIGURE 2 is a diagrammatic fragmental perspective view looking from the far side of the car as shown in FIGURES 1A and 1B, illustrating a portion of the cushion pocket employed in the cushion rack of FIGURES 1A and 1B, including one end of the cushioning device and its associated structures and showing one arrangement for making the hydraulic cushion self-adjusting;

FIGURE 3 is a view similar to FIGURE 2, but showing the cushion pocket more in detail;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmental diagrammatic prespective view of one side of a railroad car truck, illustrating the manner in which the sensing devices of FIGURE 2 are applied thereto;

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view through one of the sensing devices along its longitudinal axis;

FIGURES 6 and 7 are diagrammatic perspective views, in section, illustrating the details of an improved form of hydraulic cushion device adapted for application to the car and cushion rack of FIGURES 1A and 1B in accordance with the present invention;

FIGURE 8 is a fragmental sectional view, on an enlarged scale, of the right hand end of the hydraulic cushion device of FIGURES 6 and 7;

FIGURE 9 is a fragmcntal cross-sectional view of the cushion device as positionted in FIGURE 6, but on an enlarged scale;

FIGURE 9a is a graph dealing with the arrangement of the hydraulic cushion metering pin;

FIGURE 10 is a perspective view diagrammatically illustrating a hose clamp of the type suitable for use in the cushion of FIGURES 6 and 7;

FIGURE 11 is a diagrammatic perspective view showing the internal and external portions of the metering pin (of the device of FIGURES 6 and 7) in side by side relatlon;

FIGURE 12 is a diagrammatic perspective view of a modified form of internal metering pin component in accordance with this invention;

FIGURE 13 disgrammatically illustrates the principles of the invention applied to the cushion body car disclosed in my application Ser. No. 25,128, filed April 27, 1960, which car may include a body of standard boxcar design or the like for carrying ladin-g in the more conventional manner;

FIGURE 14 is a fragmentary perspective view illustrating a modified form of this invention, showing a pair of cushioning devices of the type illustrated in FIGURES 6 and 7 applied to the car and diagrammatically illustrating a mechanical arrangement for automatically adjusting these cushioning devices to vary the resistance thereof in accordance with the load actually on the car;

FIGURE 14A is a fragmentary perspective view illustrating a resilient bushing device that forms a part of the embodiment of FIGURE 14;

FIGURE 15 is a fragmentary to plan view of the railway car cushioning arrangement shown in FIGURE 14;

FIGURE 16 is an elevational view taken substantially along the line 16-16 of FIGURE 15;

FIGURE 17 is a bottom plan view taken substantially along the line 1717 of FIGURE 16;

FIGURE '18 is a cross-sectional view taken substantially along the line 18-48 of FIGURE 17;

FIGURE 19 is a fragmentary diagrammatic perspective view of one side of a railroad car truck illustrating the manner in which the weight-sensing devices of the embodiment of FIGURES 14-18 are applied thereto;

FIGURE 20 is a cross-sectional view taken substantially along line 2020, specially illustrating a device employed in the embodiment of FIGURES 14-19 to avoid adjustment of the cushion during normal rapid flexing of the truck springs;

FIGURE 21 is a diagrammatic perspective view on the order of that of FIGURE 3, but illustarting a different form of cushioning device associated with the weight sensing arrangement of FIGURES 1-13;

FIGURE 22 is a diagrammatic perspective view of the cushion device of FIGURE 21 as associated with a linkage arrangement for manually adjusting the cushion;

FIGURE 23 is a diagrammatic perspective view on the order of that of FIGURE 6, but taken substantially along line 23-23 of FIGURE 21, illustrating the specifics of the cushion shown in FIGURES 21 and 22;

FIGURE 24 is a fragmental diagrammatic perspective view of the cushion metering adjustment sleeve of the cushion of FIGURES 21 and 23;

FIGURE 25 is a view of the adjustment sleeve arranged for adjustment in accordance with the embodiment of FIGURE 22;

FIGURE 26 is a longitudinal cross-secti-oinal view through the modified cushion device of which the adjusting arrangements forms a part;

FIGURES 27 and 28 are views substantially along lines 27-27 and 28-48, respectively; and

FIGURE 29 is a fragmental plan view substantially along line 29-29 of FIGURE 26.

However, it should be understood that the sepcific disclosure which follows is for the purpose of complying with Section 112 of Title of the US. Code and the appended claims should be construed as broadly as the prior art will permit consistent with the disclosure herein made.

General description Referring now more particularly to the diagrammatic showing of FIGURES =1A and 1B (which illustrate a specific railroad car structure that is especially well suited for use in practicing the principles of the present invention), reference numeral 10 generally indicates one of the cushion rack-skeleton car arrangements of said Gutridge application Serial No. 21,331 (the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by this reference), which includes a skeletonized car underframe 1.2 riding on conventional trucks 13 and carrying a container support carriage, platform, or rack 14, which is mounted for movement longitudinally of the car nndertramc on support assemblies 16 that in the form illustrated include rollers 17 that ride on top of underframe 12. guide devices 19 on either side of underf-rame 12 define the path of movement of the rack 14 with respect to the underframe 12.

interposed between the carriage or rack 14 where indicated by reference numeral '18 is a long travel cushioning device of the type contemplated by my said Patent 3,003,436, the structural features of which are shown in FIGURES 6-10.

The arrangement is preferably such that the cushion device 18 has a closure travel on the order of '30 inches and the car underframe '12 and platform or carriage 14 are proportioned to permit this relative movement between the two, as when coupler impacts are occasioned.

The railroad car underframe 12 comprises a center sill structure 21 of inverted open box-like configuration in transverse section, which is made up of a pair of spaced sill members 22 disposed in parallel vertical planes and joined together at their tops by top plate structure '24 on which the carriage or rack 14 rides. These sill members are relatively wide or deep at their middle portions 25 and relatively narrow at their end portions '26 to provide the center sill structure 21 with relatively deep and relatively narrow center and end portions 28 and B0, respectively. The sill members 22 below their top edges may be joined together along their center portions by spaced diap hragms 3-2 and angle members 34.

The platform or carriage 14 is formed by longitudinally extending sill members 36 afiixed to the support assemblies '16 and having a transverse spacing comparable to the spacing between the underframe sill member 22.

The cushion device '18 is disposed in a cushion pocket 46 defined by the longitudinally extending frame membars 42 that are applied between the transverse framing members '43 of adjacent support assemblies 16 and have fixed thereto spaced lugs 44 (see FIGURES 2 and 3) that define the ends of the cushion pocket x(see FIGURE 3). Between each pair of aligned lugs 44 is mounted a stop member =46 that is fixed to the center sill 12 in any suitable rna-nner, as by welding. Lugs 44 and stop members 46 may be braced in any suitable manner, as by employing the strengthening webs 47 and 49 illustrated.

The cushion device 18 generally comprises a cylinder 48 (see FIGURES 6 and 7) and a piston head 50 having affixed thereto a tubular piston rod 5-2 which projects outwardly of the cylinder 48. The heads or closures 54 and 56 of the cylinder 48 and piston rod 52, respectively, form cushion followers 58 and 60 that are respectively held against the respective pairs of spaced lugs and stop members by high strength compression springs 62.

Suitable The cushion device 18 here disclosed further includes a metering pin 64 of improved characteristics carried by the cylinder closure 54 and projecting through a central orifice opening 66 formed in piston head 50.

The cushion device 18 is double acting as it effects a cushion transfer of impacts applied to either end of the car 10, and it is preferably provided with a substantially constant force travel closure characteristic, as controlled by the functioning of metering pin 64, in accordance wit-h the teachings of my Patent 3,003,436.

The cushion pocket 40 may be closed by a removable -to plate 70 applied between the framing members 42, as by employing suitable bolts (not shown).

The containers adapted to be carried by car 10 are generally indicated at 74 in FIGURES 1A and 1B. These containers may be of any conventional design though preferably they are of simple box-like construction with suitable doors applied where necessary and desirable, and carry suitable eyes 76 at their upper corners for crane lifting between the railroad car and a truck chassis or loading dock.

As described in said Gutridge application, the sill members 22 of the car underframe 12 and the sill members 36 of the container support platform or rack are given the same spacing as the spacing that is normally employed between the longitudinal framing members of highway vehicle chassis (which is usually in the range of between 34 and 40 inches). Also, the containers are secured to the cushion rack and chassis by identical latching devices 75 which each comprise a bracket structure 76 including a cone-shaped protuberance 78 that is adapted to be received in an appropriatelyshaped recess formed in the undersurface of the respective container. The latching devices 76 also include suitable pins (not shown) that are adapted to be received through aligned holes formed in the bracket structure and container, respectively, to secure the two together, with the pin being screw-threaded into position in the container or being held in place by a suitable latch.

The bracket structures 76 are applied, in transversely disposed pairs, to the chassis frame longitudinal members and the container support platform or rack sill members 36, respectively, with a standard spacing longitudinally of the chassis frame members and platform or rack sill members being employed between pairs of bracket structures, for instance, such as required for supporting a container having a nominal foot length.

In the showing of FIGURES 1A and 1 13, the bracket structures 76 intermediate the ends of rack 14 are hinged to the respective support assemblies 16 so that they may be disposed in an out of the way position 'whereby, for instance, containers having a nominal length of 40 feet may be applied to the cushion rack, somewhat as indicated in FIGURES 1A and 1B.

However, it is apparent that the longitudinal spacing of the container support brackets 76 may conform to any desired standard so long as consistency is observed. Alternatively, they may be made adjustable along the sills they are mounted on to accommodate varying container lengths.

It will therefore be seen that the car 10 is adapted to carry containers of varied lengths and capacities, and since each container may very well be loaded at a diiferent shipping point, the individual container loads will be of a different character and weight. Furthermore, the containers may not be entirely filled, or shipped empty, or possibly one or more containers might be omitted from the car, when the car 10 is readied for rail transit. Obviously, considerable load weight variation will be occasioned by the car in its day to day use. Nevertheless, the hydraulic cushion device 18 must be relied upon to provide adequate cushioning for both the light and heavy loads that are carried by the car.

In accordance with this invention, the resistance that the cushion-18 offers to the impetus of coupler impacts is or may be adjusted as the weight on the car 10 is varied to provide a cushion or resistance force that is most effective for the weight actually carried, which involves providing substantially constant force travel closure characteristics for both light and heavy loads, and this is done in the embodiment of FIGURES 1-12 by providing a special metering pin arrangement having adjustable orifice openings that are varied through the operation of weight sensing devices associated with the car truck bolster support springs.

Thus, the metering pin 64 of this invention comprises a rotatably mounted inner tubular member or sleeve and an outer relatively fixed tubular member or sleeve 82, which are cylindrical in configuration and are concentrically and complementarily arranged (see FIGURES 6; 7,9 and 11). Tubular members 80 and 82 are respectively formed with similarly spaced and shaped ports 84 and 86, respectively, with the tubular members or sleeves 80 and 82 being arranged so that the outer diameter of member 80 substantially complements the inner diameter of member 82, and the ports 84 and 86 are located for positioning in substantial alignment transversely of the metering pin (see FIGURE 6). As hereinafter described in detail, ports 84 and 86 are spaced and positioned lengthwise of pin 64 so that in any position of tubular member 80 with respect to tubular member 82 that permits liquid flow through ports 84 and 86, the cushion 18 will have for the car load condition corresponding to such position of member 80 a force travel closure charac teristic that reasonably approximates the desired substantially constant force cushion closure travel that is taught by my Patent 3,003,436.

The tubular member 82 is fixed, as by welding, to the closure member 54 of cylinder 48 while the tubular member or sleeve 80 is fixed, as by welding, to a stud or C011- nector body 88 rotatably mounted in closure 54 and formed with a socket 90 to receive one end of a connector rod or member 92 (see FIGURES 2 and 3) that projects from the closure member 54 through an appropriate opening 93 formed in the adjacent stop member 46 and out wardly of the cushion pocket 40 between the two framing members 42 and is operated by weight sensing arrangement 95 (see FIGURE 2).

The connecting rods or member 92 is journalled in an appropriate bracket structure 94 and has keyed thereto gear 96 which. meshes with a rack member 98 for sensing arrangement 95 that is fixed to piston rod 100 projecting from a suitable hyd'raulic cylinder 102 that may be fixed in any suitable manner to the underframe 12, as by being mounted on beam 103 extending between and fixed to sill members 22. Piston rod 100 is fixed to a piston 104 (see FIGURE 2) reciprocably mounted in hydraulic cylinder 102 and biased toward the head end of cylinder 102 by an appropriate spring 106. The head end of the cylinder 102 is in communication with a suitable manifold device 108 from which extend hydraulic conduiting 110 that are connected to ports 1 13 of sensing devices 112 by conduiting 114.

As indicated in FIGURE 5, the sensing devices 112 each comprise a tubular actuator sleeve 1 16 having mounted therein prestressed compression springs 1 18 that bear against a washer structure on one end of a piston rod .122 which extends within a single acting hydraulic cylinder 124 in which it is fixed to a suitable piston 126. The actuator sleeve 116 and the hydraulic cylinder 1 24 of the respective sensing devices 112 are each secured to the truck bolster 127 and .truck frames 129 in the manner suggested by FIGURE 4 wherein pins 128 and 130 are applied between the lugs 132 and 134 of these elements and similar lugs 1136 and 138, respectively, of the truck bolster and side iframe. Hydraulic liquid of a suitable type fills the spaces in cylinder 102, manifold 108, conduits 110 and 114, and cylinder 124 between the working surfaces 141 and 143 of pistons 104 and 126, respectively. I

As is Well known in the art, railroad car bolsters are resiliently supported on compression springs 1'40 applied in the Window opening 142 defined by the truck side tframe columns 144.

Thus, it will be seen that since the d'eflection of the truck springs 140 reflects changes of load weights on the car 10, a relative movement occurs between the truck bolster and the truck side frames that support it, and in accordance with my present invention, this movement is employed to adjust the operation of the metering pin 64 of cushion 18. Assuming that the total load is increased, which increases the weight to be carried by the car trucks, the truck bolsters 127 will be deflected downwardly and move the respective actuator sleeves 116 downwardly with respect to the respective hydraulic pistons 124, of the sensing devices .1112. This will move pistons 126 downwardly against the hydraulic liquid that is received in the respective cylinders 124, cylinder 102 and the conduiting 110 and 1 14, with the result that piston 104 will be moved outwardly of cylinder 102 to elfect movement of rack 98 that will turn the connecting rod 92 in the direction of arrow 150 of FIGURE 2. This movement of the rod or member 92 effects movement of tubular member 80 with respect to metering pin member 82 to close off the communication between the exterior or metering pin 64 and its bore 152 in the amount required to suitably increase the resistance of cushion 18 to close when protecting the increased load against coupler impacts.

If the load is lightened, the operation of the sensing devices is reversed and the cushioning arrangement operates to move tubular member 80 so' that its ports are more in alignment with the ports of tubular member 82 and thus increasing the area of communication between the exterior or metering pin 64 and its bore 152.

It is here pointed out that a most important aspect of this invention is that the cushion is adjusted in accordance with the load actually on the car while at the same time maintaining and insuring the desired force travel closure characteristic. This necessarily contemplates that sensing arrangement 95 will be properly indexed with respect to metering pin 64 when these components are applied to the car to insure that the setting of the metering pin is for the actual car load conditions reflected by the car truck springs. Thus, when the car is empty, or loadless, truck spring deflection is at a minimum and the cushion metering pin should be set to provide substantially constant force travel cushioning characteristics at Zero load conditions. The application of weight to the car up to the maximum load the car can take will then affect adjustment of cushion 18 to provide the desired constant force travel closure characteristic for each load increment involved (under the control of sensing arrangement 95).

The application of springs 118 between the piston rod of the respective sensing devices 112 and their cylinders 124 avoids unwanted adjustment of cushion 18 that would be otherwise occasioned due to sudden deflections in the truck springs as a result of track variations and swaying caused by wind, etc. Thus, as the truck springs 140 deflect under, for instance, track variations, there is no immediate effect on the positioning of pistons 126 within their cylinders 124 because of the resilient connection between the piston rods and actuator sleeves 116. It is only a prolonged displacement of sleeves 116 with respect to their cylinders 124 (it may take several minutes), such as would be occasioned by the application of or the removal of weight to or from the railroad car, that will effect a displacement of pistons 126 to provide a corresponding adjustment of the cushion metering pin, though, of course, the sensing device ports 113 must be appropriately proportioned, or some other liquid flow restriction provided, to insure this effect. It will be clear that devices 112 sense the average truck springs deflection and therefore the cushion resistance will be changed only for car load changes; car body rolling (with respect to its trucks) merely changes devices 112 in a way that does not change the displacement of piston 104.

The piston rod 100 and its rack 98, the hydraulic cylinder 102, and piston 104 of sensing arrangement 95 in effect form a weight summing device for determining the lading weight carried by the car,.and the total weight sensed by this device is automatically transmitted to the metering pin 64 of cushion device 18 (that is, the relative truck spring deflection sensed is translated into cushion adjusting movement) by rack 98 through gear 96 and connecting rod or member 92, the latter elements forming a cushion adjuster device 97, which, together with the weight sensing and summing devices, form a cushion adjusting arrangement 153. Body roll makes no net change in the cushion adjustment as the devices 112 on either side of the car automatically compensate for each in dictating the position of piston 104.

In service, the relative positioning, of the hydraulic cushion metering pin tubular members and 82 will be determined by the weight of the load on car 10 as sensed by devices 112 and summed by cylinder 102 and its associated elements, and, as contemplated by this invention, of course, the proportioning and interconnection of parts should be such that the two elements of the metering pin will be disposed as sensed by the sensing arrangement 95, for giving the cushion an approximation of the optimum constant force resistance for any sensed load increment that may be encountered between the maximum and minimum weights to be carried by the car. Of course, the metering pin design must also take into consideration the mass of the car underframe itself and its trucks and the impact speeds that may be encountered in service.

When an impact occurs, for instance, in the direction of the arrow 55 of FIGURE 3, the center sill structure 21 and the stop members 46 fixed thereto move under the impetus of the impact to press one of the stop members 46 against the adjacent end of the hydraulic device 18 to move the latter from its extended position of FIGURE 6 to its contracted position of FIGURE 7. As the hydraulic device moves to its contracted position, hydraulic liquid is forced through the orifices 157 defined by the alignment, or partial alignment, of the ports 84 and 86 of the metering pin tubular members 80 and 82, and somewhat as indicated by the arrows of FIGURES 6 and 9, to dissipate in the form of heat substantially all of the energy that is involved in the so-called impact effect? when a car impacts against, or is impacted by, one or more other cars. The cushion device 18 also adds to or subtracts from the cushion rack and its container load the energy of the impact that is to be acquired or lost as a result of the impact (depending upon the condition of impact).

Under the impact condition of FIGURE 3, the impact has been applied to the coupler at the right hand or far end of the car shown in FIGURES 1 (which is keyed to the center sill structure 12 through appropriate draft gear) and this forces the left hand stop member 46 of FIGURE 3 against the hydraulic device closure member 56 forming the follower 60, which presses the device 18 against the right hand pair of lugs 44 (of FIGURE 3). Due to the inertia of the cushion rack or platform 14 and its container load, the absolute motion of the cushion rack and container load is initially unaffected by the impact, but the pressure on the hydraulic device follower 58 acting on the right hand pair of lugs 44 (of FIGURE 3) gradually transfers the kinetic energy of the impact to the cushion rack and its container load. The cushion device continues to close until its parts have the operative relation indicated by FIGURE 7, at which time the cushion rack and its container load have the ultimate velocity dictated by the aforementioned Law of Conservation of Momentum.

After the impetus of an impact has been dissipated and the kinetic energy involved in the impact has been transferred to the cushion rack and its container load through the cushion device 18, springs 62 acting in tandem on closure members 54 and 56 restore the cushion rack and its container load to its normal central position with respect to the car center sill structure 12. In the apparatus of FIGURES 1A and 1B, a booster spring 159 applied to a cushion pocket 161, that is similar to cushion pocket 40, aids in this restoring action, as disclosed in said Gutridge application.

When the direction of impact is in the opposite direction, the functioning of the hydraulic device 18 is the same, though the forces involved act in opposite directions. Draft forces are handled in a similar manner, though the operation of the cushion device will depend upon the direction of the draft force, as will be understood by those skilled in the art.

The showing of FIGURE 12 illustrates a modified form of metering pin port opening for the inner metering pin tubular member 80, in which the ports 84a are elongate transversely of the pin and have a tear drop configuration, such that their larger ends 163 are aligned with ports 86 for light loads, and their smaller ends 165 are aligned with ports 86 for heavy loads.

The showing of FIGURE 13 illustrates the cushion device 18 applied to the cushion body car of my said application Serial No. 25,128 wherein the cushion 18, which is the same as shown in FIGURES 6 and 7, is applied within a cushion pocket 160 defined by the car draft and buffing column 162 which has fixed thereto adjacent the ends thereof bolsters carrying rollers (not shown) on which the car underframe 164 rides. The cushion device 18 in the showing of FIGURE 13 cooperates with lugs 44a fixed within the draft and buffing column 162 and stop members 46a fixed to the body underframe 164 in a manner similar to that already described to cushion coupler impacts, except that the coupler impacts are applied to the column 164 and are then transferred through the cushion device to the underframe 164. The hydraulic metering pin sensing and adjusting arrangement operates in the same manner as previously described.

In the embodiment of FIGURES 14-20, the cushion rack-skeleton car arrangement 500 is essentially the same as that shown in FIGURES 1A and 1B, except that the rack 14a includes a pair of transversely spaced pockets 40, defined by the indicated pairs of channel members 42 that are applied between the unillustrated transverse framing members 43, in each of which a cushion device 18 is mounted.

In this embodiment of the invention, the cushions 18 are adjusted by an all mechanical weight-sensing arrangement 554 for sensing the approximate total average weight of the lading being carried by the car and cushion adjusting device 556 responsive to the total average weight sensed by arrangement 554 for automatically adjusting the metering pins 64 to achieve the desired substantially constant force travel characteristic for the load actually on the car. Arrangements 554 and 556 form cushion adjusting arrangement 153a.

FIGURE 21 illustrates a modified cushion 18a, conforming to the teachings of this invention, as associated with weight sensing arrangement 95 of FIGURES 1-13 for purposes of practicing my invention to provide a modified cushion adjusting arrangement 15312 while FIG- URE 22 illustrates in connection with cushion 18a manual cushion adjusting arrangement 1530'.

FIGURES 23-25-illustrate certain details pertaining to the cushion 18a while FIGURES 26-29 illustrate another manually adjustable embodiment 153d of the invention.

Specific description The skeleton car and container rack arrangement of FIGURES 1A and 1B is merely illustrative of one specific form of apparatus of this type to which my invention is applicable. It will be clear that the invention is equally suited for use on railway car arrangements of the type employing a cushion rack mounted on top of a standard fiatcar, such as shown in said Gutridge application as well as in the application of Jack E. Gutridge and Jack W. Borger, Serial No. 36,222, filed June 15, 1960 (the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by this reference), and the showing of FIG- URES 2-5 may be considered as substantially representing the application of the invention to such cars, since the structural features illustrated would be substantially identical in both cases.

Since standard fiatcars and the cushion rack of, for instance, the latter application permit end loading of trailers onto the car piggyback fashion, and attachment of the trailers to the rack for rail transit, it will be apparent that my invention is of considerable benefit in the practice of the piggyback system of handling freight, as well as container systems of the type shown in FIGURES 1A and 18, since it automatically compensates for variation in load weights of individual semitrailer bodies.

With regard to the cushioned body car arrangement of FIGURE 13, reference may be had to my copending application Serial No. 25,128 for details, as this application discloses the specifics of the car draft and bufiing column 162 and the underframe 164. The only modification involved is the use of a stop member 46a that will accommodate the adjustment rod or member 92, and the application of a suitable support for bracket structure 94, such as plate applied between adjacent cross bearers 172. As made clear in my application Serial No. 25,128, the cross bearers 172 define openings through which the draft and bufiing column 162 extends.

FIGURE 13 also illustrates that the adjustable cushion aspects of the present invention may be applied to cushion underfrarne cars since the only real difference between cushion underframe cars and cushion body cars is that the body bolster forms a part of the body underframe 164 in cushion underframe cars, While in the specific car shown in FIGURE 13, the body bolsters are fixed to the draft and buffing column 162.

With regard to the bracket structure 94 that journals the outwardly extending end of adjustment rod or member 92, this device may be of any suitable type, though the form illustrated includes a pair of upright plates fixed, as by welding, to a base plate 182 that may be in turn welded to the top plate 170 of the cushioned body car of FIGURE 13. The rod or member 92 is slidably received in appropriate bearings 184 respectively journalled in the plates 180, and gear 96 is mounted between the respective plates 180. Rod 92 should extend sufficiently beyond bracket structure 94 to accommodate cushion travel in the desired 2040 inch range.

The stop members 46 and 46a through which connecting rod or member 92 extends preferably journal bearings 183 that actually receive rod 92. The rod or member 92 in each case slidably extends through bearing 183 (which may be of any. suitable type), and into the socket 90 of connector element 88, where it is fixed in place in any suitable manner, as by a set screw indicated at 185 (FIGURES 6 and 7).

Cushion 18 should be secured against rotation with respect to cushion pocket 40, and this may be done by making heads or closures square in configuration and proportioning them so that they contact the car deck, or welding lugs together, on either side of the cushion pocket, that will contact the car deck, or in any other suitable manner.

The hydraulic cylinder 102 that actuates rack 98 may secured in place in any suitable manner. In the car of FIGURES 1A and 1B, suitable channel member 103 or other bracket structure applied between the sills 21 of the underframe 12 will serve the purpose. In the embodiment of FIGURE 13, the cylinder 102 may be supported by further brackets applied between the two indicated cross bearer structures 172, or in any other suitable manner as will be apparent to those skilled in the art. When the invention is applied to standard flatcars, cylinder 102 may be secured either to the underframe (so that its rack 100 will project up through the bed of the car), or the cylinder may be applied in a horizontal position between the cushion rack and the car bed, as may be necessary or desirable, though care should be taken to protect cylinder 102 from rough handling.

Conduiting 110 and 114 may take any suitable form and be arranged on the car in any suitable manner. Conduiting 114 is illustrated as being flexible to accommodate the normal movements of the car trucks with respect to the car underframe.

.As shown in FIGURE 5, the springs 118 of the sensing device actuator sleeve 116 seat on inwardly extending fingers 186 when the washer structure 120 is in its neutral position. The washer structure 120 is formed with notches 187 to accommodate the fingers 186 so that when the truck springs undergo sudden deflections, the washer structure 120 may move up and down without interference with the fingers 186. The fingers 186 and corresponding washer notches 187 may be for instance, four in number symmetrically arranged about the device 112, though the exact number. of these elements employed is optional.

Hydraulic cushion details The hydraulic cushion 18, which has been generally improved over those forms shown in my applications Serial No. 782,786 and Serial No. 9,785, generally oomprises the aforementioned tubular cylinder 48 in which the piston head 50 is reciprocably mounted, the tubular piston rod 52 that is fixed to the piston head 50, a flexible tubular sealing member or boot 190 connected between the tubular cylinder 48 and the tubular piston rod 52, and the helical compression springs 62 that extend between the closure members 54 and 56 and a spring seat 191.

The internal surface 192 of tubular cylinder 48 is formed in any suitable manner as at 193 to receive two snap rings 194 and 195. The snap rings 194 and 195 hold in place a piston rod guide member 196 to which one end 197 of the invaginating boot or tubular member 190 is secured by a suitable clamp 198. The other end of the boot 190 is turned outside in, and is secured to the external surface 199 of the piston rod by a suitable clamp 200.

The device 18 is charged with hydraulic liquid to completely fill the space defined by the tubular cylinder 48, the tubular piston rod 52 and the invaginating boot 190. When the impetus of a coupler impact is applied to the cushion 18, either the tubular cylinder 48 will commence movement to the left of FIGURE 6 or the tubular piston rod 52 will commence movement to the right of FIGURE 6, or possibly. both movements may occur. In any event, as the device 18 retracts under the force being cushioned, the metering pin 64 displaces hydraulic liquid contained in the tubular piston rod 52 and the piston head 50 causes hydraulic liquid flow through the orifices 157 of the metering pin into the metering pin bore. As already indicated, the orifices 157 of the metering pin are spaced along the length of the metering pin, and in accordance with this invention they are respectively proportioned so that (assuming the mated pairs of ports 84 and 86 to be in some position of alignment) they provide a constant force travel characteristic over a specific range of car load conditions (in which the relative alignment of ports 84 and 86 is related to or calibrated with respect to the possible load variation conditions of the car), as the hydraulic cushion contracts under the shock imposed upon it. This may be done by spacing the mated ports 84 and 86 so that metering pin orifices 157 of equal areas along the length of the metering pin have the necessary spacing to achieve the desired cushion force-travel characteristic, or by providing equal spaced mated ports 84 and 86 with such area relations longitudinally of the pin that the resulting equally spaced orifices 157 will have the relative areas that will achieve this end, or by employing a combination of these relationships, and, of courst, appropriately relating the angular positioning of tubular member with respect to member 82 in relation to the possible load variations of the car.

As is best shown in FIGURE 6, the oil flow, when initiated by contraction of the cushion, is from chamber 202 on the high pressure side of the piston head 50 through the individual orifices 157 defined by the metering pin tubular members 80 and 82 into the bore 152 of the metering pin, thence outwardly of the metering pin bore into the bore 203 of the piston rod 52 and then radially outwardly of the piston rod 52 through orifices or ports i 204. As the hydraulic liquid within the tubular piston rod is displaced by the metering pin, it likewise moves through piston rod ports 204, as indicated by the arrows.

The hydraulic liquid flow through the ports 204 is under relatively high velocity and creates great turbulence in the chamber 205 that is formed by the space between the tubular piston rod guide member 196 and the piston head 50. This great turbulence is caused at least in part by the radially directed fiow of hydraulic liquid impinging directly against the inner surfare 192 of tubular cylinder 48, and is responsible for dissipation of much of the kinetic energy of the impact in the form of heat by reason of the fact that maximum heat is generated in the hydraulic liquid, and the heated hydraulic liquid flow is directed against a constantly changing portion of the cylinder wall surfaces 192 (which uniformly distributes the heat along tht cushion).

As contraction of the cushion device 18 proceeds, the high pressure chamber 202 is reduced in volume by the advancement of the piston head 50 toward the tubular cylinder closure member 54. The hydraulic liquid passing through the metering pin orifices 157 fills the chamber 205 behind the piston head 50, while a volume of hydraulic liquid equivalent to that displaced by the total entry in the fluid chamber defined by the bore of the piston'rod passes through apertures 208 of guide member 196 into the space 210 enclosed by the boot or tubular member 190, which inflates or expands and rolls to the position suggested by FIGURE 7. The apertures 208 of guide member 196 are relatively large in cross-sectional area, which provides for thence a relatively large volume and consequently low pressure hydraulic liquid flow from the chamber 205 to space 210. This avoids generation of any appreciable compressive force on the relatively slender metering pin and prevents any possibility of it buckling.

As the device 18 closes in dissipating shock, a small portion of the energy of the impact is stored as potential energy in the compression springs 62. As the inner end 212 of the metering pin approaches its innermost position 7 within the tubular piston rod, liquid flow from the piston rod moves outwardly from its bore through ports or orifices 214 that communicate directly with the space 210 that is defined by the boot 190. Since the space between the internal surface 203 of the piston rod and the metering pin is relatively small (see FIGURE 9), the flow path back to ports 204 becomes more and more circuitous as the metering pin advances within the piston rod bore. Ports 214 thus avoid pressure buildups within the piston rod bore which would make the cushion highly sensitive to hydraulic liquid viscosity variations.

After the impetus of the shock has been dissipated, the springs 62, acting in tandem, return the hydraulic cushion components to the initial extended position of FIGURES 6 and 9, this action expending the portion of the energy occasioned by the impact that is stored in the return springs. During this extension movement under the action of the compression springs, the oil flow illustrated in FIGURES 69 is reversed and the tubular steel or boot contracts to the position of FIGURE 6, thereby insuring that the hydraulic liquid displaced by the 

1. A LONG TRAVEL HYDRAULIC CUSHION DEVICE FOR ABSORBING RAILROAD CAR COUPLER IMPACTS, SAID DEVICE COMPRISING: A CYLINDER HAVING A CLOSURE MEANS AT ONE END, A PISTON HAVING A HEAD DISPOSED IN THE CYLINDER TO DEFINE FIRST AND SECOND VARIABLE MEMBERS AND HAVING A PISTON ROD IN THE FIRST CHAMBER, SAID PISTON ROD HAVING A FLUID PASSAGE, A METERING PIN MEANS EXTENDING FROM THE CLOSURE MEANS AND PROJECTING INTO THE SECOND CHAMBER AND COMPRISING A PAIR OF CONCENTRIC RELATIVELY MOVABLE FIRST AND SECOND TUBULAR MEMBERS RECIPROCABLY EXTENDIBLE THROUGH THE PISTON HEAD INTO SAID PASSAGE AND DEFINING A BORE COMMUNICATING WITH SAID PASSAGE, EACH TUBULAR MEMBER HAVING PORT MENS FOR COMMUNICATING WITH THE OTHER, THE PORT MEANS OF ONE TUBULAR MEMBER BEING SPACED FROM THE OTHER IN A PLURALITY OF POSITIONS IN DEFINING THE FORCE TRAVEL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CUSHION DEVICE, MEANS FOR VARYING THE RELATIVE POSITON OF ONE TUBULAR MEMBER WITH RESPECT TO THE OTHER, A FLEXIBLE DISTENSIBLE HYDRAULIC FLUID-IMPERVIOUS MEMBER CONNECTING WITH THE PISTON ROD AND THE CYLINDER FOR SEALING THE FIRST CHAMBER, THE FIRST CHAMBER HAVING A LOW PRESSURE UPON CONTRACTION OF THE CUSHION DEVICE AND HAVING ORIFICE MEANS FOR ESTABLISHING COMMUNICATION BETWEEN SAID FIRST CHAMBER AND THE FLEXIBLE MEMBER, AND SAID SECOND CHAMBER HAVING A HIGHER PRESSURE UPON CONTRACTION OF THE CUSHION MEANS, SAND THE PORT MEANS OF THE TUBULAR MEMBERS PROVIDING FLUID COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE BORE OF THE METERING PIN MEANS AND THE SECOND CHAMBER, SAID PISTON ROD HAVING PORT MEANS FOR PROVIDING FLUID COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE PISTON ROD PASSAGE AND THE FLEXIBLE MEMBER, AND BIASING MEANS FOR EXTENDING THE CUSHION UNIT TO AND EXPANDED POSITION. 